B6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 25, 1997 DAVE TAYLOR SKEENA ANGLER ROB BROWN Gerry’s gift G C hen I grow up,’’ Totem Flyfisher Rex Schofield is reported to have said, ‘‘T \ want to be a little boy.’ And, considering that all but the most preco- ciolls among us are just reaching some kind of intellectnal and emotional adulthood some thirty ar more years after physical maturity, dedicated {lyfishers — already relired, or with a short time until retirement — find themselves in the pleasant position of being able to head for the sireain to devote themselves to their beloved sport: a boyish pursuit filled with juvenile joys. if ever there was one, Unknowingly, I’ve shared’ a similar dream, a dream variant, to Rex’s reverie. [’ve often thought when I grow up I’d like to be Jerry Wintle, “Jerry wha??? you may ask. [f you don’t run ' with fish and fishers you’re forgiven for not knowing. Bul to Qyfishers in this province the name Winlle will almost certainly bring a - knowing uod, which is quite surprising consid- ering the fact that Jerry Wintle never plays tunes on his own horn. In a sport filled with and always tending to exaggeration, an avocation that has seen the rise of many self-styled fishing warriors who make a profession of advertising . themselves and the products of sponsors, Wintle has quictly gone about his fishing and acquired monikers like “The Human Net’. Wintle, you . see, is doer, his reputation growing confidently from the reports of those who have seen him fish aud those who have fished with him. { don’t have much truck with things: paranormal, but I’ve met gays who scem ex- ~" trasensorally perceptive when it comes to find- ing fish; I remember a young kid [ taught twen- ty years ago who could pull fish from holes in the ice other people had just fished. After watching: fishless after fishless fisher come leave the small tarn on his property, an ancient farmer asked this kid to stop by and administer the litmus test. The kid rowed out into the pond and went to work. A few hours later he returned with a half a dozen good sized trout and as- ‘surauces of the pond’s pood health. I’ve heard enough Wintle stories to make me. suspect Jerry may have the same kind of nose for Cish. For example, there was the report of the time that Jerry caught two fish behind two other proficient fishermen one day late in the season on the Thompson River, This may not seem like such a big achievement until you consider that it was a bilterly cold day, and the two men ahead at him were using bait while Jerry was fishing a small wet fly at the end of a floating fly line. Wintle was born in Vancouver when the river fishing ear town was still excellent, But faced with a declining summer stecthead fishery in the rivers near home, Wintle began fishing streams in Washington State. He and partner Bob Taylor did well there, fishing alongside many Amer- ican pioneers of the sport, Bob Arnold, well know fisherman and author, would not credit Jerry’s talent to any sixth sense, He remembers when Wintle’s ability to catch fish when others can’t and catch more when others do was nol so pronounced, Some- time early in his career, Arnold has wrilten, Wintle evolved. Since thal time he has honed his skills on the finest steelhead rivers in North America. While working his way up the ladder at B.C. Hydro, Winile still managed annual trips to the Dean, ihe Thompson and the Morice Rivers with plenty of jaunts to Washington’s Sauk and Skagit, to Vancouver Island, and lo his property on Hibume Lake for some Kamloops troutitig. Now that he’s retired, Jerry and his partner Jean spend a couple of months on the Dean River each year. Early in the season they live oul of the small cabin they’ve acquired near the beach so that Jerry can fish chinook on the lower river — with flies, of course, Later on they take the dilapidated pickup Jerry had Terrace soccer teams prepare for Finals A GREAT SEASON is get- ting even better for several local teams in Terrace Youth Soccer, As of Saturday, there were three Terrace Select teams heading to the Provincial Championships and more could be on their way, The Select Under-13 boys team, and both the Under-14 girls and Under-19 girls teams all qualified at vari- ous zone playdowns held over the past few weeks. And three other teams were battling it out this past weekend in both Terrace and Prince George in hopes of also heading to the Provincial Championships. The Under-13 boys took their Zone Finals June 14 in convincing, fashion, leaving nothing but a goose egg in the hands of three rival teams. Terrace started their scor- ing feast with a 3-0 ap- petizer of Quesnel, followed up with a 2-0 main course of Williams Lake before final- ly cleansing their palate with a 2-0 dessert of Kitimat. The boys ended up with Terrace triathletes rock in Rupert A RECORD aumber of tri- athletes turned out for the Prince Rupert Islandman race two weekends ago. Terrace athletes fared very well at the soggy event, which drew 212 competitars to the rainy city June 15. That beat last year’s high of . 169 racers. And just like last year, the ‘race was divided into short course (500 metre swim, 20 kin bike and 4 km run) and long course (1,000 metre swim, 40 kim bike and 8 km ‘ jun) events, The long course open was won by Smithers’ Peter ‘Krause in 1:43.43, followed nine points for the lourney. Second was Williams Lake with six. And over the weekend, the boys Under-17 squad took on three other teams in their ‘bid for the © = Zone Championships and a trip to the Provincials. Terrace started out against a tough Prince George team Saturday morming, and fin- ished up play Sunday aftemoon. Saturday morning's game was tight one. Terrace came out strong and potted one early, bul Prince George came back later in the half on.a penalty kick to tic it at one goal a piece, Prince George picked up a second goal early in the sec- ond half to make it 2-1. Un- fortunately, full results weren’t available at press time but look for an update in next week’s Standard. This year’s Provincial Youth Soccer Finals are being held in Surrey for the girls and Prince George for the boys. At least three and possibly six Terrace teams will com- pete in the Finals July 4-6. by Berud Guderjahn of Rupert just 30 seconds later. Meanwhile, the long course open female category was taken by Anita Bush.of Smithers, with Terrace’s Cheryl Steele placing sec- ond at 2:01.47, Stecle finished less than 30 seconds back of the leader, and she knew it would be close. “Me and Anita are usually within a minute of each other,” she says. ‘‘But she always has a better run and we were tight after the bike so [ was running seared.’’ Meanwhile, Terrace’s Ray Warner took first place “in EE EE Te i ried TERRACE AND Prince George Select Under-17 teams battle it out Saturday for the Zone Championships and a berth in the Provincials. Waterski clinic back in town THE TERRACE Waterski Club is gelting sel to host 638-7283: the Master’s Long Course, finishing in 1:47.47 — a full four minutes ahead of the next closest racer — Brian Kean, Terrace also took second in the Long Course female relay. Mary Stewart, Wendy Shymanski-Gee and Caro- line Spence combined for a time of 2:01.55. their second annual waterski clinic at Lakelse Lake, July 7-11. Two NCCP waterski coaches are coming up from. Vancouver for the event, and lessons will be available for skiers of ali abilities —- from total beginners to national-level competitors on skiing, wakeboarding, barefooting, boat driving and boat safety. They’re bringing a pretty cool competition ski boat too, and the club’s Mark Poppleton says they hope to build on last year’s successes. “This is really for everyone, young and old,” Pop- in the short course. the Open Female category, . finishing at 1:18.38. And David Liscumb won Masters Male category in 1:13.57. Local athictes also rocked ” Kim Barrier was third in sport. the pleton says. ‘The idea is to get more people involved in skiing and show that waterskiing is a safe and fun The club will also be sending a team of skiers to the BC Summer Games in July. It’s the first time this zone has ever sent waterskiers to the games. Poppleton will have a booth set up at Ruins Board Shop Saturday, June 28 to register skiers for the clinic. For more information call Mark at 635-1447, Braid burns rubber in P.G. SHE MAY NOT be the absolute fastest bike out there, but the Little Red Ricer sure is pretty, And she regularly helps Jim Braid to top-three finishes at drag races. “She’s very consistent,’ Braid says. ‘‘As long as 1 do my part she does hers,’’ Two weekends ago Braid blasted his way to a second place finish at the motorcycle drag races in Prince George. The event drew competitors from all over western Canada, racing three different classes of ma- chine — Street, Super Bike and Big Fucl. Braid made 17 runs on his Street Class 1982 Yamaha Virago, tearing through the quarter-mile in 14.5 sec- onds at 90 Mph. westerners in the newly-formed Road Runner Race team — an off- shoot of the Road Runner Motor- cycle Club. The team travels to drag races around the province to com- pete and Braid says he hopes to hit five or six races this year. The race team also plans to join forces with the new Terrace Drag Race Association in hopes of getting nore events scheduled in the north- west and hopefully a dragstrip in the near future. ‘They're doing good work,” Braid says of the association, ‘‘And they need all the help they can get.”’ Braid says racing bikes and cars is both fun and safe, and a strip would get wannabe drag racers off the street and onto a track. e 4 “You see these young kids out riding these crotch rockets on the street. It would be great to get them onto a track where it’s safe. When everyone’s going in the same direction ferried to the valley and drive the rough logging -road to lower river above the canyon where, during the peak wecks of the summer steelhead season, Jerry adds to his enonuous tally of sum- mer steelhead as Jean attends to camp, In the fall, Jerry and Jean will leave the lush valley of B.C.'s premier steclhead stream then take the truck camper north to the Morice and Bulkley wiicn the leaves are tuning. If you happen to be on the Thompson River near Spence’s Bridge around Hallowe’en there is a good chance you will mect a soft-spoken gentleman (ishing a. floating line and a small nondescript! My with an Orvis cane rod and a burnished Hardy Perfect, He’ll be wearing Seal Dri waders and leaning on a home made wading staff. If you engage him in conversation, he7}] speak with quiet passion about rivers aid: fish and offer suggestions about how best to take of them, He’s Gerry Wintle, one of the best steel- headers anywhere, though he’d never say so, JIM BRAID and his Little Red Ricer took second piace at a drag race in Prince George two Weekends ago. nobody gets hurt,’”? -Jim Braid- The 920 ce bike is virtually stock, with a few modifications to the car- buretors and exhausi system, giving it an extra 10 horses. And Braid says he plans on working the bike over to geta little more speed. ‘Y've got the bug pretty bad now,’? he says. “I haven’! even licenced my street bike this year. I spend all my tittle on this.’’ This is Braid’s third year as a drag “ racer and itll be his third time al ‘both the Kitimat Hill Climb and the Riverboat Days races. He's actually one of four north- “You see these young kids out tiding these crotch rockets on the Street,”’ he says. “It would be great to get them onto a track where it’s safe, When everyone’s going in the same direction nobody gels hurt.” Braid says he can’t wait for this weekend’s Kitimat Hill Climb, -A top three finisher in past years; he’s looking to win this year. And he says the future of drag racing in the northwest looks bright. ‘Drag racitig is pretty hot up here already,’ he says. ‘And we don’t even have a track yet."